Amazon reported second quarter sales of $4.06 billion, up 41 percent, and net income of $158 million, more than double what they recorded last year. Those results were ahead of the consensus analyst expectations in both sales and earnings. North American media sales of $1.148 billion were up 25 percent, once again exceeded by international media sales of $1.258 billion, which rose 38 percent, helped considerably by foreign exchange. (International media sales were up the same 25 percent increment excluding exchange rates. Media incorporates “books, movies, music, digital downloads, software and video games, including game consoles.”) The company remained true […]
Earnings Reports
Corporate Report Cards Due
It’s time for a run of earnings reports from publicly-held companies again. Scholastic leads this wave with their earnings release, set for tomorrow morning. They are followed quickly by: Pearson/Penguin Group, on July 28 (pre-market opening) CBS/Simon & Schuster, on July 31 (pre-market opening) News Corp./HarperCollins, on August 5 (after the close) More follow toward the end of the August, including: Barnes & Noble, on August 18 (after the close) Books-a-Million, on August 18 (after the close) Borders, on Aug 26 (after the close) Bertelsmann, on August 28 (report on the first 6 months) Lagardere, on August 28 (report on […]
Courier Takes Big Charge Against Creative Homeowner
In reporting third quarter fiscal 2008 results, Courier Corporation took a “non-cash impairment charge of approximately $23.9 million related to poor performance at Creative Homeowner,” reporting a net loss of $12.4 million against flat sales of $73.4 million. Creative Homeowner “was especially hard hit in the quarter, experiencing slow sales and higher-than-anticipated returns from retailers due to the continued reduction in store traffic at home improvement centers and other large retail chains. Including the allowance for returns, Creative Homeowner’s third-quarter sales were down 45% from a year earlier. The result was a pre-tax loss of $3.6 million” for the period. […]